Buster
Keaton's Civil War comedy The
General opened in Detroit on Saturday, February 5, 1927 at the
Broadway-Strand theater. It opened in New York City on the same day at
the Capitol theater.

"Combining
pathos and comedy, Buster Keaton of the frozen face comes to the Broadway
Strand theater this week in one of the best pictures to show in that house
in many moons," read a review in The Detroit Free Press on
February 7, 1927. " 'The General' takes one back to the days of the
Civil war and with accuracy based on many months of research work recounts
in a very funny manner the famous Andrews railroad raid in April, 1862,
when a dozen Union daredevils stole a locomotive in the very heart of
the confederacy and beat their way to the north, tearing up track and
ties on the way."

"A bombardment of laughter is being fired by Buster
Keaton in 'The General,' his latest feature, depicting some amusingly
entertaining yet rather serious aspects of the Civil War, now showing
at the Broadway Strand," read a review in The Detroit News
on February 7, 1927. "Appearing in the role of an heroic but slightly
dumb engineer who saves his fellow countrymen from dire disaster, he performs
in the typical Keaton style, although his actions seem hindered at times
by the innumerable duties thrust upon him."

The
Fire Brigade (Mae McAvoy, Charles Ray) was at the Madison. That
theater also advertised a future movie that was a sign of the coming Talkie
eraThe
Better 'Ole (Syd Chaplin), which had synchronized sound by Vitaphone.

Also in town were Faust
(Emil Jannings) at the Miles and The
Great Gatsby (Warner Baxter) at the De-Luxe. The
Cheerful Fraud (Reginald Denny) was at the Grand Riviera, and
nearby, at the newly opened Riviera Annex, was the comedy The
Nervous Wreck (Harrison Ford, Phyllis Haver, Chester Conklin).
On stage live at the New Detroit were The Four Marx Brothers in The
Cocoanuts.

Ann Arbor audiences were treated to the opening of The
General at the Majestic theater on Sunday,
February 6, 1927 after a run of The
Nervous Wreck (Harrison Ford, Phyllis Haver, Chester Conklin).
On stage with The
General were xylophonist El Cota and dancer
Bee Byrne. The
General played for four days at the Majestic
before being replaced on February 10, 1927 by Manbait
(Marie Prevost).

"Buster Keaton in 'The General' has a role in the
most dramatic picture of the type in which he yet has played, and some
thrilling battle scenes of the Civil war are intermingled with the plot,"
read a review in The Ann Arbor Times News on February 7, 1927.